Very nice feel good article about how much Swaggy P really does impact this team and the effort he goes through to make his teammates smile even in the most down moments.

Nick Young Keeps The Team Together While Lakers Slowly Fall Apart

Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni recently praised Young for the energy he’s been able to impart on this team. D’Antoni referred to him as a “joy to coach” after the Lakers win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in December,saying he could not ask for “a better player, human being and teammate.” Through the Lakers five-game losing streak, Young’s frustrations have slowly begun to rear their head in post-game interviews, but he has not allowed those frustrations to permeate the team. Before the Lakers played the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, teammate Shawne Williams said, “You can’t do anything but smile when you see Swaggy,” and that perception is exactly how Young hopes his teammates see him.

“Somehow I gotta stay positive and get my teammates positive and everybody to just still enjoy the game of basketball,” Young said after Lakers practice on Monday. “When I come to the gym each day I know I gotta bring that energy. I can’t be down because it’s contagious. If I come in with attitude, everybody probably just gunna have a bad day, so I just try to come in, try to get everybody going.”

Not everybody, though, has the attitude of Nick Young and some teammates wear their negative emotions on their sleeve. Young has made it his job to turn those attitudes around.

After practice on Monday, Chris Kaman sauntered by Young with his head down and the hood on his jacket pulled over his head. Without skipping a beat, Young put his chats with the media on hold and called out to Kaman to make sure he was alright. After not hearing a response, Young called out again (this time with a funny nickname – Lurch) until he could get a smile out of the big man. He succeeded.

Young can’t do anything to take back the Lakers five-game losing streak, but he can continue to be the glue that keeps this team together while everything seems to be falling apart.

“Losing is frustrating but at the end of the day, we all, we got. We can’t be mad at each other. We need each other more than anything”

Nick Young is the kind of kid that deserves to be a part of a Lakers Championship roster. I must say these kind of stories are always nice to hear. I truly hope the Lakers give him a multi-year deal after all of this. He's pretty much our best player except for Kobe and Kobe actually doesn't mind his smile and positive attitude because of his 'killer instinct' that Kobe likens to his own behind that smile.

But the effort he goes through to keep things positive in the locker room to making down teammates smile at practice are the little things that shows how valuable he is to this team on and off the court.

Good on you Swaggy P.

Thought a positive story is a nice way to bring in the new year on new year's eve

With that said.. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! Have a safe and wonderful one

Edited by Majesty, December 31, 2013 - 12:44 AM.

"Bryant had come to rage against the idea that Howard's clownish disposition could overtake the locker room, the Lakers' culture, and had warned Howard that he would never, ever let it happen."

Young deserves it. He sometimes even cares "too much" out there and tries to single handedly dig us out of holes.

I don't think it's a stretch to say that right now he's the heart and soul of our team, he needs to play well and lifts guys spirits. But the losing really is in his head as he seems to put a lot of blame on himself when the team does bad. He shouldn't. But you can tell.

"Bryant had come to rage against the idea that Howard's clownish disposition could overtake the locker room, the Lakers' culture, and had warned Howard that he would never, ever let it happen."